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As the latest addition to the Strange Music roster, CES Cru came in swinging. Not waiting to make an impact, the lyrical duo of Ubiquitous and Godemis dropped an exclusive video on fans featuring an acapella performance of “4 Nothin”. Making their presence felt, CES Cru was undoubtedly ready to stand tall inside Strangeland. While CES Cru is new to the Strange Music line up, they certainly aren’t new to Tech N9ne. Aside from working together, CES Cru also shares a hometown with Tech N9ne – something that opened them up to Tech’s extensive catalog long ago.

We recently caught up with CES Cru and asked them to share their top 5 Tech N9ne songs. From the lyrical display on Bad Season to classics like Anghellic, CES Cru’s picks turned out to be just as diverse as their individual styles.

Godemis On His Top 5 Tech N9ne Songs

1) “Mitchell Bade“– I got “Mitch Bade” first, number one, because that might have been the first Tech N9ne song I ever heard. I think. I might be wrong about that, but “Mitch Bade” is bananas. It was and still is a Kansas City anthem. When it came out, you couldn’t go anywhere in Kansas City without hearing it, you know. It was just bananas. It’s a bananas song.

2)“This Ring” – After that, I got “This Ring”. I feel like it’s just a cool conceptual song and it’s got awesome writing and it’s super rhythmic. Tech is always that way, but I feel like he was getting at something else in that song that maybe he didn’t really explain fully. I know it’s something that he’s touched on before, about like his family and the music and how to balance the two. That song kinda touches on that without going too much into it. I like that.

3)“Big Bad Wolf” – He’s got another one that I believe is called “Big Bad Wolf”, and it’s super old school. I’m not sure when it dropped, but it’s an older Tech N9ne song. He’s doing all your favorite Tech N9ne tricks that maybe you don’t hear him do so much anymore. I believe he’s rapping backwards in some places on there. Rapping about his rhyme book, it’s basically a bragger rap song. He’s just rapping about being a big bad wolf and blowing everybody down. It’s a crazy song. It’s an older Tech N9ne song, but it’s flippin phenomenal.

4) “Psycho Bitch”– Then, I got “Psycho Bitch” on there. I think that’s kind of self explanatory. It’s just bananas and such a good idea, first of all. Just the idea alone that he took that beat and changed it like that. A beat that is familiar for what you know from a scary movie, but then he applied it to dealing with these psycho women and these psycho females. He was able to take something that was already iconic and made it his own. Made it applicable to something else, that was a great idea.

5) “Delusional” – My most recent favorite Tech N9ne song is probably “Delusional” offAll 6’s And 7’s. It’s almost self explanatory, but the hook and – that’s kind of my favorite Tech N9ne where he kind of slows down and kind of takes a lower tone and kinda talks to you real personal. He gets real introverted and explains himself. I don’t mind a guy spilling his guts and I think that’s kind of what he’s doing on that song. I like that a lot. I can also relate to the hook a whole lot.

Ubiquitous On His Top 5 Tech N9ne Songs

I really got screwed on this one because he took all my favorite songs when he picked. I got songs, but I just feel like I had to pick around my favorites which are “Delusional”, “Psycho Bitch”, “This Ring”, and “Big Bad Wolf” from back in the Wake Up Show days.

1) “All Day All Night” – We should start with the weird one which is “All Day All Night”. It’s a song from Bad Season that probably, people aren’t super hip to. I don’t know, it’s something I can relate to or whatever, what he’s talking about. It’s my jam. I don’t know it’s kind of like, “Really? That’s the one you like?” It is though. It’s super accurate, the way he explains it. I’m not at his level, but what he explains is sort of a blown up version of what I experience just sort of around Kansas City. I have a little bit of ghetto celebrity, just a little bit, but I have been run up on at various spots and whatever, shit like that.

2) “Questions”– I threw “Questions” in on the list just because that was one of those big groundbreakers for him back in the day. It’s super original, in its time. You go back and hear that song, a lot of rappers weren’t rapping that fanatically consistently through a song. Tech was not only doing that, in a writing angle, but also his style was real different for the period, which was the 90’s. Long ass time ago. It’s real dope.

3) “Table And Chest Stress” – I threw on “Table And Chest Stress” because that goes super hard in a lot of different ways. Tech being able to beat on his chest and rap at the same time is really tight. I’m sure you’ve seen yourself and it’s wow. You know, him doing that on a song I thought is real dope. What he’s talking about on the song too.

4) “Slave” – I know there’s other people on this song and I was trying to pick songs where it was just Tech rapping, but I threw in “Slave” off the new record. It goes super hard and everybody goes super hard on there. I really like where he’s going in that song. It’s fresh, it’s brand new. I can really relate to it on a personal level, in the now, that it’s hot off the press. I really feel like everybody bared their soul on there, all three of them. Tight ass song.

5) “Ego Trippin” – Last one I put on there is “Ego Trippin” and it’s just a lighthearted more flashy lyrical song. Real dope though. As you can see, a lot of our stuff is off Bad Season. I really like Bad Season, even though it’s a mixtape.

what is with you americans and making top10, top5, top3, topeverything lists?!? i dont understand why everything has to be rated.. with music, for me, it seems to be rather hard to chose one song over another. especially when it comes to 9’s mucis, that’d be like chosing your favourite star in the universe..

Cole

Cool story bro

LyrikalArkitech

@KIDWITDEGUN i dont understand why a large majority of people from countries other than america (i say it like this merely because i do not wish to include all foriegn people i have met and shown respect as they have me and we have grown as humans because of said mutual respect) always have to judge what we americans do. the list is because america is todays ancient rome are we not just a mass to be controlled by secret puppetiers of which we have no idea, or a concept in order to fathem such. The purpose of the lists i believe is to give the masses something to follow. i myself agree with you kidwitegun i cant pic except for This Ring because of a personal connection i feel to that song i.e. in you similie it would be the star that collapsed to form the black whole at the center of the milky way galaxy so i pick it, thank you. and plz try not to group us all as one mass because if you do you’re no better then the puppetier only you have no control over us. so once again

LyrikalArkitech

@KIDWITDEGUN i dont understand why a large majority of people from countries other than america (i say it like this merely because i do not wish to include all foriegn people i have met and shown respect as they have me and we have grown as humans because of said mutual respect) always have to judge what we americans do. the list is because america is todays ancient rome are we not just a mass to be controlled by secret puppetiers of which we have no idea, or a concept in order to fathem such. The purpose of the lists i believe is to give the masses something to follow. i myself agree with you kidwitegun i cant pic except for This Ring because of a personal connection i feel to that song i.e. in you similie it would be the star that collapsed to form the black whole at the center of the milky way galaxy so i pick it, thank you. and plz try not to group us all as one mass because if you do you’re no better then the puppetier only you have no control over us. so once again

KIDWITDEGUN

you are certainly right, i shouldnt simplify things or prejudice. dont worry, i’m not taking it that serious to be personal affended by those top10 lists.

but we are on a u.s. website, reading from u.s. people about u.s. music… so of course this answer is not about indonesians.

dont you feel that there is and has been for a long time an obsession with ranking shit?? in the hiphop community it’s a problem, too. in germany, where i live, it’s quite the same. we rather talk about which rapper is better than the other than talking about the music. and that is such a waste of time that i can’t even beginn to describe how dissapointing that is. you know, talking about who’s better, jay z or wayne 🙂 as if they were so easy to compare…

this article is done quite nicely and i dont get the feeling that ces crew is just choosing 5 songs without knowing anything about it. in fact, quite the opposite, their choices are personal and half the tracks i didnt know, that means they really know the t9 universe with all the songs and are not afraid to name songs which nobody knows. to respect to them. but if you read the headline, its “THE TOP 5 SONGS”. it just sounds to cheap

being irritated by that, i guess, i just lost sight over the real stuff. i hope me and “the majority of people from other countries” are doing better next time;) what can i say, it’s a sad circus.

i have to go with @cescru ,godemis on “This Ring” because when i was 4 years old that was the very first ech song i heard on a casette tape.. that song is deep and explains some much about how his life is… And for “mitch bade” is a song you can get hype to! lol and its soo true!

my top 5 completely differ except for one, my top 5 would be 1) trapped in a psychos body, so in love with that song 2) come gangsta cuz tech goes so hard u can’t even fuck with it 3) this ring, the only one I agree on 4) slacker for several reasons #1 cuz he uses a Jim Morrison quote at the beginning and the doors are my all time favorite band #2 cuz when I sing along certain points really speak to me cuz I am a singer who obviously has to take the job he shoved up his ass lol #3 cuz tech is just so ruthless even when he’s having fun and last but not least 5) klusterfuk… I am definitely a klusterfuk and tech goes so hard on it!!! Plus I felt the need to name a newer song lol anyways I am such a loser :p